Redefinding Turkey's Strategic Orientation, Winter 2007

The Republic of Turkey continues to undergo a profound reexamination of the very tenets of its national identity, driven by a combination of internal reforms and external challenges. An equally significant strategic reorientation involving Turkey’s role within the region and its future position in a broader international context is Turkey’s robust reassertion of its strategic importance, as a global actor with an emboldened agenda of activity within a number of international organizations, ranging from its traditional partners like NATO and the UN, to the more unconventional, such as GUAM and even the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). And most crucially, partly as a result of both frustration with the European Union (EU) and a decline in its relationship with the United States, this new strategic reorientation may very well determine the future trajectory of the Turkish Republic.

Richard Giragosian

This issue of TPQ takes up a myriad of issues that the Middle East is grappling with today: from protracted conflicts and the increasing complexity of proxy wars, to changing regional blocs and emerging powers. The Arab uprisings of 2011 remain an important fulcrum for the changing political landscape of the Middle East, and as many of our authors contend, the underlying problems and basic drivers...